Rhubarb Crisp Recipe (2024)

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Cooking Notes

Marilyn Kruse

I'm an old Iowa farm girl (rhubarb desserts are classics there) and have been eating/cooking with rhubarb for years. This is basically a good recipe, certainly easier than making a pie crust. Suggestions:1. Double the white sugar. It is too tart.2. Double the cinnamon, and add a little nutmeg.3. Melt the butter so you don't have to mess around with a food processor.4. Dut the baking time by about 8 to 10 minutes.5. And yes, serve with vanilla ice cream.

John Golden

If you use melted butter instead of cutting it in to flour mixture, it's incredibly crisp/crunchy

Mary Sojourner

Nancy

I've made this several times and couldn't understand why the crisp was not crunchy. So this last time I read the instructions more carefully (that's always good) and realized the dough needs to actually clump together in the food processor, almost like a pie dough. In the past I hadn't processed it enough. So now it's got clumps of crispiness, the way I like it. And I find no need to remove strings from the rhubarb.

Sarah

Replace the juice with grand marnier

K2

To more readily and consistently blend the orange and lemon zest, toss the zest with the sugar before adding it to the rhubarb.

Janet

People's comments:Make sure dough clumps in food processor so it will bake up crisp."Using melted butter makes it incredibly crunchy."Double oats if no nuts desired.Sweet - try 1/2 cup brown sugar.

Lorraine

I added a tablespoon of cornstarch to stop it bubbling up over the topping.

Gabi C

Try adding ginger (powdered or crystallized, chopped finely) to the rhubarb instead of orange/lemon zest. It adds a little heat. I sometimes add it to the crisp part too.

April

P.S. Oops forgot one thing. The recipe doesn’t call for it but most rhubarb recipes call for a little flour that you toss w/rhubarb to give it a coating.

Tessa

Toss rhubarb thoroughly, lemon zest can clump up. Delicious with double oats and no nuts (one family member loves rhubarb but doesn't like nuts).

Chris

I made the crisp as directed in the recipe. It was very good but too sweet for our tastes. If I make it again, I would cut the brown sugar back to 1/2 cup in the topping. Overall the dish was good.

Penny

I use almond flour and coconut oil for the topping and it works great.

Karen Artiaco

I love the true taste of rhubarb, and feel that the additions of strawberries and/or other berries to rhubarb dishes takes away from that flavor. But, since I also like citrus flavor in dishes, I thought I would like the added orange zest in this recipe. Not so, for me. I felt it the took away from the flavor of the rhubarb. Otherwise a very good crisp recipe that I will use again.

Mandy

This recipe is faulty. For me, 5-6 c. of rhubarb is 1 lb 5oz. The first time I made the recipe, I only went by weight measurements. I see now that I had basically double the amount of rhubarb for the sugar, which is why the recipe came out so tart. Additionally, it was very liquidy, and in the future, I would toss some cornstarch or other thickener in with the sugar.

Elizabeth

This may be the best rhubarb I've ever eaten. I followed the steps but made some substitutions for a vegan diet. 1 for 1 canola oil for the butter and I used both coconut palm sugar and brown date sugar for the sugars, also 1 for 1. I doubled the sugar in the rhubarb based on a suggestion below (THANK YOU). It came out perfectly and this will be on heavy rotation for spring baking.

Mary

Solid recipe. If you haven’t tried rhubarb without strawberries, definitely try this. Not sure when the addition of strawberries occurred along the line - they are way too slimy cooked, roasted or baked. Rhubarb is totally delicious on its own.

Shavaun

Great topping for anycris

EEY

I froze half of the crisp topping which was perfect when I needed to make another dessert a few weeks later. Worked great since the recipe as written is for quite a large batch!

Marie

Didn't have enough rhubarb so combined with apple, which was lovely.Amped up the crisp:- added more butter (melted as suggested in reviews)- doubled the nuts- doubled the oats- extra brown sugar (1/3 cup)- extra cinnamon & nutmegWonderful!

Sharon Graham

Good base recipe. This was my first attempt at something with this classic summer combination. I followed some of Marilyn Kruse's suggestions and was very pleased with the result!

Jody

Delicious! Wonderful! This is the crisp of my childhood-I’ve been searching for this recipe.. I didn’t have enough rhubarb, so I added a few strawberries.

Charles Brown

Made it pretty much as is however I used the “melted butter” method rather than the processor. The crisp turned out very crispy, as expected. The pecans, however, turned quite dark quickly which gave the crisp a speckled appearance. The slightly burnt flavor of the pecans gave it an interesting note. In the future I will use the doubled oats and forego the pecans. Oh, I also mixed in a tbsp of cornstarch in with the rhubarb. The filling was excellent.

molllllballlll

We had with strawberry Tillamook ice cream. Divine on this hot summer night.

LBond

Fabulous dish. But 5-6 cups of rhubarb is only 1 1/2 pounds! I made this with 1 1/2 pounds and it was perfect; topped with a little almond gelato and it was sublime!

Anne in Maine

The rhubarb in my garden often has very thick stalks by the time I harvest it and I used to spent a lot of time peeling them before cooking--until a wise woman told me it was unnecessary. I now save a lot of time by just slicing the raw rhubarb (with a very sharp knife)--the peels completely soften during baking or cooking.

lucy

Possible to sun olive oil for butter?

McInelly

I liked the orange with the rhubarb. I did add a bit extra sugar into the rhubarb portion. And I used melted butter for the xtra crunchy topping. Delicious!

IV

Made this tonight.... followed recipe to a T. Omitted optional pecans. YUM!!! Will definitely be in our rotation. Thank you

Stephanie

So, if climate change has you singing the summer blues, say looking out at dense haze from the Canadian wildfires or surviving intense heat, you can use up the last of the fresh rhubarb and strawberries this season and make this lovely crisp. As others have noted, it is honestly perfect when made just as the recipe says, i.e. amount of sugar is just right in my opinion. I promise you, eating this will bring some summer joy no matter what!

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Rhubarb Crisp Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my rhubarb crisp runny? ›

TROUBLESHOOTING: WHY IS MY RHUBARB CRISP RUNNY? It's pretty typical for any kind of fruit crisp to be a bit liquid-y while it's still warm. The juices are flowing and they are just thinner because of the warmth. But as long as you used the right amount of cornstarch, it should “gel” quite a lot as it cools down.

Should you soak rhubarb before baking? ›

Wash rhubarb with cool tap water, but do not soak.

Why is my rhubarb crumble dry? ›

Usually it's the crumble that wrong. It might be too lean, making it rather dry and everlasting to eat, or it's undercooked so that it has the pasty flavour of uncooked flour.

Should I thaw rhubarb before baking? ›

It is not necessary to thaw frozen rhubarb before cooking with it, but if you are baking with rhubarb, it's best to thaw it first as it shrinks a bit after thawing and you want an accurate measurement. Frozen rhubarb will keep for 1 year. It is still safe to eat after that, but its quality will decline.

What happens if you put too much butter in crumble? ›

If you use more butter than the recipe calls for, the crumb topping will be melted and greasy. If you don't use enough butter it will be dry and floury.

How do you thicken up rhubarb? ›

If you desire a thicker rhubarb sauce, add a little cornstarch, tapioca, or modified starch after you open the jar prior to serving.

How much baking soda do I put in rhubarb? ›

Neutralizing Rhubarb's Acidity

Once the rhubarb has given up its juices, pull it from the oven and stir in a quarter teaspoon of baking soda using a heat-resistant spatula.

What if rhubarb crumble is too wet? ›

But if you feel your topping is still too dry and crumbly, (even for a crumble) add a bit more melted butter, a tablespoon at a time. If you think it's too wet, add a little more flour to soak up the extra butter.

What is the secret to crunchy crumble? ›

A pastry chef friend shared the technique. Instead of sprinkling the raw crumbs on top of the fruit, where they absorb the juices and turn a little mushy on their undersides, he spread them out in a pan and baked them separately, until crisp and cookielike.

What is the difference between rhubarb crisp and crumble? ›

So what's a crumble vs. a crisp? A crumble is just a crisp without oats in the streusel. It may feature nuts, but the streusel topping is usually a simple combination of butter, flour, and sugar that is more clumpy than that of a crisp.

Why is my crumble not crisping up? ›

The main reason your crumble topping isn't crunchy is probably because you haven't used Demerara sugar. Although, it could also be that you've got your topping ingredient quantities wrong: either too much or not enough flour and butter alongside the sugar.

Should you peel rhubarb before baking? ›

Preparation of fresh rhubarb

If you buy it during the peak season (April to June), peeling isn't necessary. But after peak season, the stalks can be tough, and peeling with a small and sharp knife might be necessary to help make it more palatable (via BBC Good Food).

Can I just chop and freeze rhubarb? ›

Cut the rhubarb to a size that is convenient for how you plan to use it in future recipes. Place the cut rhubarb on a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze. (This prevents the formation of ice crystals). Transfer the rhubarb to a freezer-safe bag (leaving it about 1/3 of the way empty).

Do you add sugar when freezing rhubarb? ›

You can also toss sliced rhubarb with granulated sugar, which helps prevent freezer burn by minimizing the rhubarb's exposure to air.

How to keep rhubarb pie from being runny? ›

Just take the liquid you strained out and simmer it over medium-low heat with a thickener like cornstarch until it's less runny. Then add the thickened juice back to your rhubarb and cornstarch mixture before cooking your recipe like normal.

Why is my rhubarb so watery? ›

Rhubarb pie fillings are often soft and runny. The rhubarb contains so much water, you either have to add too much thickener or coax the rhubarb to release its liquid before thickening it.

Why is my crumble watery? ›

The ingredient list for a crumble or crisp is relatively short, but don't be tempted to leave out the cornstarch. As fruit cooks, it releases its juices, becoming saucy and soupy.

How to fix wet crumble topping? ›

But if you feel your topping is still too dry and crumbly, (even for a crumble) add a bit more melted butter, a tablespoon at a time. If you think it's too wet, add a little more flour to soak up the extra butter.

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